Social Talent Management Solution SilkRoad Secures $35M Series C Round, Preps For Potential IPO

Online human resources and social talent management solution SilkRoad just announced that it has raised a $35 million Series C financing round. The investors in this round include new investors Keating Capital and NTT Finance, as well as existing investors Intel Capital, Crosslink Capital, Foundation Capital, Azure Capital and Tenaya Capital, amongst others. In its announcement today, SilkRoad stressed that this was an oversubscribed round. The company plans to use this new funding to support its international expansion and “product innovation.” SilkRoad also expects to use this money to prepare for “a potential 2012-2013 initial public offering.”

Previous to this round, the Chicago-based company had raised about $94 million. SilkRoad currently has about 400 employees and 20 global offices that give it a strong presence in Europe and Asia. The company doesn’t currently publish its financial results, but analysts estimate its annual revenue to be somewhere around $70 million.

“Social talent management” may not sound like the most exciting of markets, but according to SilkRoad, “Global human capital management (HCM) spending is expected to hit $8.1 billion by 2015, according to IDC. Additionally, the recent wave of acquired talent management companies is further proof of the significant market opportunity expected. As the economy continues to recover, HCM will continue to be one of the hottest areas for IT spending.” The company offers a wide range of HR solutions that range from recruiting management and applicant tracking to tools that help global companies manage their employees.

The company’s focus is mostly on small and medium businesses, but it also has an increasing number of enterprise customers, including Toyota Tsusho, Juniper Networks and Clear Channel Communications.